Discovering Us
by Dying to be Different
Summary: Okay, so uhm, after a forever long break, I've decided to go ahead and finish this up!
1. Just Friends

Disclaimer :  I am not JK Rowling.  I do not own Harry Potter. 

Author's Note :  To all of the little homophobes running around out there, don't read this.  You won't like it.  To every one else, please read and review, this is my first femmeslash and I want to know what you think about it.  Constructive criticism is accepted, but please don't flame me just because you don't like slash fics.  Now, with that said, on with the fic.

Chapter One:  Just Friends

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was exceptionally quiet.  After dinner, there had been an Order meeting called to determine when and how they should pick up Harry which explained where the older attendants of the house were.  Fred and George, whom Molly still insisted should have nothing to do with the Order, were still at work in their joke shop in Diagon Alley.  Ron had had a rather bad experience with spiders while cleaning out a cabinet in the hallway closet, and had decided to turn in early.  Hermione and Ginny were both in the bedroom they shared; Hermione sitting at a desk writing away at a potions essay; Ginny snuggled in her bed, drifting in that half-awake, half-asleep, dreamy sort of realm.

The next thing Ginny seen was Hermione leaning over her with an arm propping herself up on each side of Ginny's body.  Before she could do or say anything, Hermione started talking.

"We need to talk.  Girl-to-Girl," she stated firmly as if giving battle plans.

"M'kay…" Ginny answered groggily, confused as to why Hermione would need to have a girl talk in the middle of the night.  Hermione sat up, also allowing Ginny to do the same.  In the time that it took them to get sat up, Hermione seemed to become remarkably shy and an awkward silence hung in the air.  Ginny sat their motionless watching Hermione fidget with her hands and waiting for her to talk.  Finally, Hermione looked up from her hands and into Ginny's eyes.

"Ginny, I'm about to trust you with the biggest secret of my life," stated Hermione slowly, "I've never told anyone what I'm about to tell you, and I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore after this, but I need to get this off my chest and you're the only one I trust.  Because I know that even if you choose not to like me after his, I can still trust you to keep it a secret,"  

"Hermione, you know I'd never quit talking to you!  You're practically my best friend," replied Ginny comfortingly, even though she was curious as to what Hermione had to say.

"I know, it's just hard…do me a favor before I tell you though.  Promise me that no matter what I'm about to say, we'll stay best friends," Hermione said, holding out her pinky finger to Ginny who wrapped it in her own.

"Promise," she said sincerely.

"Right.  Well.  Here goes.  I think…I think I might be…bi," Hermione said really slowly, and then sat there for a minute, studying Ginny's face as the news seeped in.  It was unreadable, Hermione had no way of  knowing what she was thinking, so she waited nervously for Ginny to talk again.

"Really?"  Ginny asked.  Hermione nodded a yes.  "How do you know?"  

"Well, I'm not exactly 100% sure, but there's this girl that I kind of have a thing for," Hermione answered, like she had this all written out in her head.  

"Oh," Ginny said back, unsure of what to say after that.  "Can I know who it is?"  Hermione froze, her eyes staring into Ginny's like a wild animal surprised by a spot light.  Apparently, she hadn't been expecting Ginny to ask that.

"Um, yeah," she answered, remembering how to work her vocal cords.  Hermione bit her bottom lip and averting her eyes from Ginny and concentration on a spot on the wall.  She finally let her gaze drop to her fidgeting hands and began to talk.  "It's, uh…Ginny…I love you," she finished quickly, her eyes returning to Ginny's face as she spoke the last three words.

Ginny sat there with that same "deer in the headlights" look Hermione had had on her face only seconds before.

            "I'm sorry, Ginny, I shouldn't have told you-"

"Hermione-"

"-I was completely out of line-"

"Hermione-"

"-I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore-"

"Hermione!"

"-it's just that-"

"Hermione!"

"-and-" in attempt to get her to quit talking, Ginny leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Hermione's.  In only a few seconds, what had started as just a little kiss turned into something a little more passionate.  As they kissed, Ginny reached down and grabbed Hermione's hands in hers to stop them from fidgeting.  After a few more seconds, Ginny pulled back.

"I love you too," she whispered to Hermione with a twinkle in her eyes and a grin playing on her features.  Hermione was at a loss for words, so instead of saying anything else, she leaned forward for another kiss.  This time, their lips met with vigor, as if searching for something inside of each other.  Hermione made to part Ginny's lips with her tongue, but found them already open and their tongue's met with an almost unnatural lust for one another.  As they kissed, Ginny moved forward onto Hermione.

Hermione's hands left Ginny's and went out behind herself to support the pair as they kissed.  Ginny had a hand on either side of Hermione's body to support herself as she pressed her own body harder to Hermione's.  She stretched her arms farther out until they were at length with Hermione's and upon finding the other girl's hands, laced their fingers as she crawled farther forward.  She was fully straddling Hermione now, with a leg on each side.  Ginny had pulled Hermione's hands out from beneath them and then using the strength in her lower body, pushed against Hermione even harder, causing her lay farther back, supported only by the arm that Ginny had wrapped around her.  Their bodies were in complete synchronization as Ginny gently reclined them into a horizontal position.

Ginny was almost shocked when Hermione rolled them over, reversing the situation and putting herself on top as she took the lead.  Hermione kissed her deeper before tracing kisses down her jaw line while her hands were working were working fast at unbuttoning Ginny's shirt.  Hermione worked her way down to the base of Ginny's neck where she started suckling her soft skin.  Then, sliding Ginny's night shirt down off her shoulders, to reveal her naked body, proceeded slowly to kiss down her collar bone.  She then went back up to the other side of Ginny's neck and repeated her actions, as she did, she moved her hands up to Ginny's breasts and began massaging them, causing a low, growling moan to escape Ginny's lips.  Hermione then took her thumbs and began circling Ginny's nipples until they were hard.  She stopped kissing Ginny's neck long enough to look up into her eyes and smile mischievously before moving her mouth down towards Ginny's chest.  She took one of Ginny's nipples in her mouth, sucking on it softly at first, and then harder, flicking her tongue over it occasionally just because she like the way Ginny moaned and gasped when she did it.

"Ginny!  Ginny!  Wake up!"  said a voice over Ginny.

"Huh, wha-?" Ginny answered back sleepily.

"Ginny, get up.  Are you okay?"  Hermione asked sitting down on the bed beside her.  Ginny realized that she had been dreaming and then flushed red as the memories of the dream flooded back to her.  She looked at Hermione in fear, did she know?  

"Wh…why wouldn't I be?"  Ginny asked, trying to sound confused.

"I dunno…I guess you were just having a nightmare or something," Hermione answered knowingly.  "You kept moaning and repeating my name over and over,"

'A nightmare,' Ginny thought sarcastically to herself.  "Yeah, it was a nightmare," she said aloud to Hermione.  'The best nightmare I've ever had,' she added in her head.  "Thanks for waking me," she said trying to hide the bitter sarcasm in her voice.

"No problem.  After all, what are friends for?"  Hermione smiled.  Ginny smiled back weakly and Hermione went back to her homework.

'Friends,' Ginny thought, 'Nothing else.  Just friends.'


	2. Is This Really Happening?

Chapter Two: Is this Really Happening?

~Author's Note~ :   Okay, a while ago I uploaded what was going to be chapter two.  It was a piece of shit chapter that I just threw together so that I would have something to post.  It wasn't heading towards where I wanted this fic to go, so I took it down and wrote this one.  It took longer than expected, but I'm a lot happier with this one, and I hope you are too.  Please Read and Review, you have no idea how much more motivation a person has to do something if they know people like what they're doing. ;-)  And thanks to everyone who read/reviewed my last chapter.   

The next day turned out to be little better than the previous.  With the exception of an owl arriving from Harry, it had been an uneventful day.  When dinner time rolled around, the only ones in the house were Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.  Everyone else was busy doing something involving the next meeting of the Order. 

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she listened to Mrs. Weasley fuss over how Professor Dumbledore didn't let the group come back to HQ for dinner. 

"Could've at least let me take them something.  Too risky he says.  I'll tell you what's risky, it's them not having food in their stomachs," she was saying.  Trying not to smile became even harder for Hermione as she watched Ginny roll her eyes and mock her mother from behind her back, extremely over exaggerating it.  Unexpectedly, Mrs. Weasley turned around to where Ginny was standing.  If it weren't for her quick reflexes, Ginny surely would have been caught.  When Mrs. Weasley had started to turned around, Ginny had had one hand on her hip and the other out in front of her pointing as her mother had been doing.  As soon as she saw her mother begin to turn however, she grabbed a tea towel that was directly below her hand and pretended to be wiping the counter with it.  "Oh Ginny, I do appreciate the help dear, but you really ought to be eating your dinner before it gets too cold," she said gently as she took the towel and wiped the counters off herself. 

Holding her breath and her laughter, Ginny smiled at her mother and went to the table to eat.  Soon, Mrs. Weasley walked out of the room to answer the door bell and the three teenagers dissolved into fits of laugher.

"Can you imagine mum's reaction if she had turned around and seen her precious baby mocking her?"  Ron joked.

"Can't even begin to think about it!"  Ginny laughed back.

"Who was at the door?"  Hermione asked very loud and suddenly to let the other two know that Mrs. Weasley had walked back in the room.

"Mundungus," Mrs. Weasley answered with disgust.  "Wanted to know if he could store some 'items' here.  Humph," she snorted.

When they finished eating their dinners, the three went their own ways; Ron to his room to write Harry back, and Hermione and Ginny to theirs.  Hermione was doing homework again and Ginny was pretending to read a book.  Ginny was so absorbed in her "book" that when Hermione started talking, she hardly noticed.  Hermione had to call her name three times to finally get her attention.  Ears tingeing pink with the guilt of her thoughts, Ginny coughed a little and looked up as an answer.

"Good book?" Hermione teased.

"Yes.  It's…interesting,"

"I'll bet.  You've been on that same spot for quite a while now," Hermione observed.

"Oh."  Ginny answered feeling dumb and turning the page. 

"So…what were you really thinking about?"  the older girl asked her. 

"…Do you like my brother?"  Ginny asked in replace of an answer.  Seeming a bit taken a back, Hermione didn't speak for a few seconds. 

"Ron?"  she asked. 

"Duh!  Yes Ron.  Who else?"  Ginny joked sarcastically, causing Hermione to smile despite of herself.  'Is this really happening?' she kept asking herself. 

"Like how?"  she asked, still smiling. 

"You know how…"

"Yeah," Hermione admitted.  "Well…I…I think I do…I don't exactly know…"

"How can you not know?"

"It's so confusing with him.  Sometimes I could just grab him and strangle him to death.  Other times, I feel like I could hold him and never let him go," Hermione answered her honestly.  Ginny felt a wave of nausea sweep her as Hermione spoke, but she made herself smile and act normal. 

"You know he feels the same, right?"  Ginny heard herself saying. 'What are you doing?' she was inwardly screaming at herself.  Another awkward silence seeped in before Hermione spoke again. 

"How-" Hermione began, but was cut off.

"How do I know?" Ginny finished for her.  Hermione nodded a yes.  "I'm his little sister.  It's my job to snoop," she told Hermione with a smile on her face.  Ginny didn't know how much longer she could hold the smile.  She felt as if her soul was draining out now that she knew how Hermione really felt.  Ginny wanted desperately to be with Hermione, but even more than that, she wanted to see Hermione happy, and she would do all with in her power to see to it that she did.  Even if it meant she wouldn't have her to herself.  As long as Hermione was happy that was all that mattered and Ginny would try to be happy with her; for her.  But that meant that she couldn't really be happy for herself.  Ginny's mind fluttered back to reality and she become conscious of the fact that Hermione still hadn't said anything back, she was just sitting there smiling.  Ginny flashed her another grin before walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?"  Hermione asked her suspiciously as she walked.

"To talk to my brother," Ginny answered simply.      

"You can't!"  Hermione squeaked.

"Sure I can," Ginny told her.

"He's going to think I'm-"

"No he won't," Ginny cut her off again.  "He doesn't do much thinking." She added with a wink as she opened the door and walked out of it.  Ginny hardly realized what she was doing until she found herself standing outside her youngest older brother's bedroom door with a thousand and one things racing through her mind.  'Is this really happening?  What am I doing?  Have I completely lost my mind?  This is crazy.  Why am I trying to help them get together?  Duh, to make Hermione happy.  But I could just go back down and tell her he said no.  No, that wouldn't be right.  It'd probably hurt her too.  I don't want to hurt her; I want her to be happy.  But it hurts me.  Oh well, it doesn't really matter as long as she's happy.'  Ginny thought in all of about three seconds and though she had reassured herself that this is what she needed to do, what she wanted to do, she still had to force herself to knock on his door.  'Run away, run before he comes out.  Go just go.  Tell Hermione he said no.  Leave.  Go.  Run!' she was thinking as Ron came to the door.  "Too late" she sighed as the door opened.

"What?"  Ron asked confused.

"Oh.  Sorry.  Talking to the picture," Ginny lied, making herself smile. 

"What did you need?" he asked impatiently.

"Uh, can we talk?" she asked him.

"Sure, I guess so," he answered slowly, opening his door wider as an invitation.  "Come on in,"  Ten minutes later, she found herself escorting a nervous Hermione to Ron's room.  With a few more minutes of coaxing the two, she had Ron and Hermione sitting on the bed together holding hands, fingers entwined as the talked. 

Putting on a false smile, Ginny stepped out of the room and walked like a soulless zombie to the room that she and Hermione shared.  Once inside, she shut the door and slumped against it, sliding down onto the floor with her head between her knees crying.  She had done it; she had gotten her brother together with the love of her life.  She knew that any hope she had ever had of Hermione and her getting together was now shattered.  Ginny stayed in that same position for a long time, letting her tears flow freely until she heard footsteps and voices drawing closer to the door. 

Not wanting to be seen or talked to, Ginny hopped up and sprinted quietly to her bed and when Hermione walked in, she pretended to be asleep.  For the first time in a long time, Ginny didn't want Hermione to notice her; didn't want Hermione to talk to her.  But as usual, the exact opposite of what Ginny wanted happened.  Hermione walked right over to her bed and sat down beside her nudging her.

"Ginny?" she asked gently.

"Hmm?" Ginny asked without even opening her eyes which she knew were bloodshot from crying. 

"Thank you," Hermione told her, giving her a sisterly hug.

"No problem," Ginny said, using all of her will to keep her voice from cracking.  Ginny was thankful that Hermione said no more that night because she knew if she had to talk again, she would start crying.  Then Hermione would definitely know something was wrong and Ginny would have to make up yet another lie to cover up how she felt for her best friend.  Ginny watched silently as Hermione changed into her night clothes and crawled into her own bed, falling asleep in no time.  Ginny however was awake for several hours more.  Why did everything hiding in her mind have to come out at night?  In the end, she cried herself to sleep. 


	3. Burning Bridges

**Author's Note**: Wow, first I want to apologize for taking so long with this chapter. For a while there, I was just being really lazy, then that thing called life kinda snuck up on me. When I finally finished writing the chapter, I was too lazy to type it - I had to deal with life again…Tell me, why is it that I don't really like any of the girls I could have, but I'm just desperately in love with a girl who is straight, has a boyfriend, and is talking about marriage? Grrr…haha, anyhow…

Thanks for the reviews, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside - Special Thanks to:

V: Who has a very busy life, but yet always manages to find time to listen to be ramble on about nothingness. _hugs_ You're awesome!

Jessi Rose (erm…Jezebel Malice, now though, huh?): As for killing Ginny…a lot of what I write comes from personal experience.

Drac's hot, but Ginny's better!: Nah, I usually don't suck cough cough

Charmed Lassie: Sorry, had to do it.

Potts: Now tell me, where would the angst be if they were already together?

LeperMessiah86 and Blue Crayon: Thanks a million! Constructive criticism helps more than you know…let's me know what I need to work on

BWR: It's used in a lot of fan fiction because it's used a lot in real life ;)

To all of my serial reviewers: Thanks for sticking with me. I love you guys!

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**Chapter Three: Burning Bridges**

Ginny's sleep didn't last for long; when she woke again, it was still dark outside. Knowing that she'd not be able to get back to sleep, she decided to go and take a cold shower. Showers always helped her clear her mind; helped her think things through, and she always felt better when she was finished.

At first she cried, letting her tears mix with the water pouring down her face. She thought mostly about Hermione, how much she wanted her, how impossible it would be to have her, but the thoughts just brought more tears.

"I've got to stop crying," she thought miserably as she scrubbed her body as if she were washing away her thoughts. By dedicating all of her mind to washing herself, she was able to stop crying. Once she had stopped crying, she took a mental grip on herself, on the situation, and plunged back into the thoughts. "It's going to be the hardest thing I've ever done (besides actually admitting my sexuality to myself), but I can do this. I just have to bide my time, be happy for her, and eventually, things will start working to my advantage." Ginny didn't actually believe herself, but she knew that as long as she kept telling herself this, it would make her feel better. If she didn't have the little spark of hope it brought there inside of her, she would break down for sure.

The next few weeks were rough on Ginny. Sure, she was well-adjusted, but not so well-adjusted that the situation with Hermione and her brother didn't bother her. It took a while, a few sleepless nights, and then nights where she cried herself to sleep, but she was finally able to manage being in the same room with the two of them, though most of the time she avoided it. Talking around them would be the next thing on her list to work on.

Currently, she felt like she would start crying if she even opened her mouth while she was in the same room with them. The thought of Ron having what she wanted, the thought of him touching Hermione, kissing her, holding her – just knowing that they were together made her sick to her stomach.

It wasn't just the thought of Hermione being with someone else that bothered her. What got her the most was that that someone else was Ron. Hermione could do better for herself than Ron. Not that she, Ginny, thought that she was any better than Ron, but she knew she could do better for Hermione than her brother could. She didn't think Ron incapable of doing good on Hermione's part, but she knew that she loved Hermione more than Ron could ever want to, and because of that selfless love, she knew that she could do Hermione better.

She wondered how long Ron's nice act would last before he went back to being the dick he normally was. She wondered what would happen when he and Hermione had a falling out. Whose side would she take? How would she choose?

"I guess I'll burn that bridge when I get there," she said out loud, and then sheepishly peered around to see if anyone had heard her. Luckily, there was no one around.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon and she had only left her bedroom twice that day. With a sigh, she got up and walked out of her room. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but anywhere was a start.

"Where are you going?" asked Hermione once Ginny reached the stairs causing Ginny to jump with surprise. She hadn't even noticed Hermione sitting there on the floor near the stairs, covered in shadows as she was.

Smiling at herself, Ginny answered. "Just thought I'd come see what everyone else was doing,"

"What's the smile for?" Hermione asked. Studying her face, Ginny suspicioned that there was something wrong with Hermione.

"Just laughing at myself. I didn't notice you sitting there. Kinda scared me when you said something. Wasn't expecting it is all,"

"Oh. Sorry." Hermione said smiling back with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, trying not to act as concerned as she really was. For Ginny, Hermione hurting pulled at her heart as if it was her hurting instead, and Ginny wished it was; Wished that she could take all of Hermione's problems and hurting away; Wished Hermione happiness even if it meant not being happy herself.

Hermione attempted another smile. "Nothing. Just thinking," she answered. Ginny slid down onto the floor next to her brother's girlfriend.

"You don't lie very well," Ginny informed her. Hermione sighed and leaned her head back onto the wall. "Wanna talk about it?"

"It's just me being silly. You're going to laugh and think I'm pathetic," Hermione spoke aloud her fear.

"Hermione…Have I ever laughed or made fun of you before. For any reason?" Ginny asked the bushy-haired maiden. Hermione shook her head no. "Right. Because we're friends, and friends support each other no matter what…even if they do have a silly problem. If it's bothering you, it doesn't matter how minute it is, I'll always try to do my best to help." Ginny thought her heart would stop when Hermione looked up at her with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Thanks," she whispered before pulling her knees to her chest with her arms and resting her head on them as a sob escaped her throat.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked gently. The only reply was Hermione's leaning towards her and resting her head on the younger girl's shoulder. Ginny thought her heart might beat out of her chest and was sure Hermione could hear it, as it was all Ginny was hearing. With her hands trembling, Ginny put her arms around Hermione and pulled her into a hug. The two sat there surrounded by the unusual quietness of the house. Hermione's slowing sobs being the only sound. When Hermione had silenced, Ginny spoke again.

"You okay?" she asked, pulling Hermione's head up so that she could look at her face.

"Yeah," Hermione sniffed. "It's just that…I thought things would be different now, between Ron and me, I mean. Like maybe he's show a bit more interest in me, include me in some of his 'boy stuff'. But no…he would rather spend the day looking at the demo brooms Galatia Brooms sent the joke shop without me than have me come along because I 'ask questions about something so simple to understand as a brooms, and then complain about how I don't understand why boys are into such nonsense." She finished in a high pitched voice mocking Ron's earlier remark to her.

"Can you believe he actually said that?" Hermione asked, as though it still surprised her.

"Coming from Ron I could expect as much," Ginny admitted. "I love my brother, but you know as well as I do, if not more so, that he has a tendency to be selfish."

"Yeah, I know" the older girl admitted, "But I didn't expect it to show so soon,"

Ginny smiled, "He's a boy Hermione. They aren't good at this kind of stuff. Especially Ron," Hermione smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just can't believe we're fighting this soon. I was so sure that things would be different now,"

"Well…" Ginny started off slowly, "if you were to catch a frog in a pond, bring it home with you and keep it as a pet…you feed it, water it, keep it in a nice cage…just whatever it needs…will the frog still eat flies?"

"Umm, Gin, what-"

"Just answer, yes or no." Ginny cut in.

"Well, yes, I suppose it would." Hermione answered, unsure of where Ginny was going with this.

"Then just because you change the conditions around it, that doesn't mean the frog will change?" Ginny asked.

"But Ron isn't a frog," Hermione reminded the younger girl, smiling. Ginny sighed and smiled back.

"I think you've missed the bigger picture I was trying to make,"

"No, I understand," Hermione said. "It's just that I feel dumb for not seeing it before,"

"You shouldn't feel dumb at all Hermione. When you're in love with somebody, you're somewhat oblivious to things that are going on around you. You really believe only what you want to; like that the person you're in love with will act the way you want them to, or that they'll love you back,"

"But I still can't help but feel dumb for not seeing it before when you made it so bleeding obvious now," Hermione said with a chuckle.

Ginny smiled back and then let silence settle between them, "Whaddya say to icecream to help you forget about it? My treat?" Ginny asked.

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**Footnote**: Okay, whaddya think? Reviews are always welcome and very much appreciated ;) And chapter four is pretty much written. I've gotta go back, add dialogue in a few parts, tweak a few scenes, and that's pretty much it. I'd say I'd have it done soon, but I have a tendency to get sidetracked really easily…like now…VH1 A2Z Angelina Jolie just came on drools I'm gonna marry her one day…she doesn't know it yet, but it'll happen ;)


	4. Nicci

Author's Note : I've had this chapter written for a while now, I just never got around to typing it. It's only been a little over a month since I last updated, but a lot has happened. That girl I was in love with… I realized that while I was sitting there miserable and stuck on her, she was happy with her boyfriend. So I started trying to move on. I started talking to this one girl, but we both decided that we'd be better off as friends. So then one night when I was talking to one of my female friends, I started realizing how sweet she was. We started flirting and then she asked me out. Now I'm convinced that I have the greatest girl in the world :D I'm sure you all really wanted to know that, huh?  
Jess (phoneixjay27): Thanks!  
To Everyone that Thinks that Angelina Jolie is theirs: Nooo way, she's all mine! No wait… Um. Darn. I still plan on having her one day. It'll just have to be on the side… No, that'd be wrong. Hmm… you can have her for now…  
V: Thanks!  
Everyone else: Thanks a bunch for reviewing me. I'd take time to thank you more personally, but I kinda figured you'd rather have me put up the chapter rather than spend more time typing this ;-)

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**Chapter Four: Nicci**

"What?" Ginny asked of her as Hermione giggled from behind her ice cream cone.  
"Oh, nothing," Hermione said in mock seriousness.  
"No, what is it?" Ginny asked curiously.  
Smiling, the older girl answered her. "You've got a bit of ice cream on your nose"  
Ginny blushed scarlet as she tried to wipe it off. "Did I get it?" she asked.  
"Nope" Hermione said, giggling again as she reached up to wipe the ice cream off for Ginny.  
"Hermione!" a voice rang out from across the street. Hand in mid-air, Hermione turned to see who had called her. Ginny, ice cream forgotten, let out the breath of air she had been holding with the anticipation of Hermione's touch, and turned with Hermione to see the source of the voice that she knew all too well. Her heart sank when her eyes confirmed who her ears already knew it was. She had been hoping that by some chance of luck that she was wrong.  
Ron came trotting across the street towards them carrying a small, brown, paper sack. Neither of the girls spoke as he approached.  
"Hermione, look, I wanted to apologize about earlier. I said some things I didn't mean and well… here" he said taking a card from the sack in his hand, and holding it towards her.  
Holding eye contact with him, Hermione took the card from his hand slowly and then read it twice. Her voice failed her as she opened her mouth to talk. Instead, she reached up and hugged Ron's neck.  
"I'm sorry," he told her, returning the hug.  
"I'm sorry too," she admitted before she broke the hug.  
"Um, I was thinking," Ron said to her, causing Ginny to almost laugh out loud. "so long as we're in Diagon Alley, do you think we could go out? … on a real date?" When Ron finished the question, he was blushing a furious pink and had a self-conscious look about himself.  
"What about Ginny?" Hermione asked.  
"Oh yeah," Ron said, sounding disappointed.  
"What about me?" Ginny asked, remembering the ice cream and wiping it from her nose.  
"Well we can't just leave you here by yourself, Mum would kill me," Ron explained to her as if she were a little kid.  
Trying not to sound like she was as hurt as her brother made her feel, Ginny answered him. "Ron. Really. I'm a big girl now. I even dress myself in the mornings. I mean, sure, I still mess up and put my shoes on the wrong feet every once in a while, but I'm pretty sure I can manage getting myself home from here," she said in a voice that was dripping with sarcasm.  
"Ginny, I-" Ron started but was interrupted.  
"Really, I'm fine. I'll go home," Ginny told the couple who were now holding hands. It made her cringe to see Ron having everything she wanted.  
"Alright, but straight home," Ron said trying to sound authorative, but instead sounding like an overly protective older brother who was scared of his mother.  
"Okay," Ginny assured her older brother. Before turning to go on her way, Ginny glanced towards Hermione, for one last look at her love before leaving her to Ron. At the same time, Hermione looked towards Ginny causing the two of them to make unexpected eye contact. For a brief instant, Hermione was sure that she saw a sudden sadness beyond her comprehension in Ginny's eyes. But just as sure as she was that she saw it, it was gone again.  
As Ginny turned and started walking away, Ron asked his girlfriend where she would like to go and Hermione let all thoughts of the younger red head evaporate from her mind.

* * *

'Home,' Ginny thought miserably as she walked down the cobble-stone streets of Diagon Alley. 'What's for me at home, but an empty house and another boring day for me to sit thinking about Hermione and be miserable? I know she's straight, I know she's in love with Ron, and I know that it's not going to change. But it never fails; every time I'm alone with her, I start thinking that if I just show her that I care about her, if I show that I could treat her so much better, that just maybe she'll start to care back. It's stupid and I know it, but I keep doing it over and over.  
'Today pretty much proved that it's hopeless. I just spent all day with her showing her that I care, giving her a shoulder to cry on, letting her know that she doesn't deserve the way Ron treats her, cheering her up, and trying to make her happy. Ron comes along and within 5 seconds, she forgets that I exist. I'll never be able to make her notice me because she's in love with Ron.  
'But even if she weren't, I'd never be able to make her love me the way I love her. She's probably never even had the thought of being with another girl cross her mind'  
Deep in thought as she was, Ginny hadn't realized that she had walked so far when she reached the turn towards the Leaky Cauldron and the floo home. Out of habit, she started in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, but paused after only a few steps and turned back around, looking out into the busy streets. With a few hesitant steps, Ginny began walking back into Diagon Alley her plot and her courage building up as she walked along. She knew what she needed to do. So casting a last cautious glance over her shoulder towards the pub, Ginny ducked into the crowd, and made her way towards Knockturn Alley.  
The streets in Knockturn Alley were a lot less crowded than the ones in Diagon Alley. People mostly dressed in dark robes with hoods that covered their faces walked along the edges of the streets.  
Ginny watched the dusty shop windows as she walked along. It had been a long time since she had been here, but it seemed like only yesterday. At last, she came across the shop she had been looking for. From the outside, a passerby would have no idea that the shop was in business, much less know what it held, unless they'd been there before. Luckily for Ginny, she had.  
Trying not to look guilty, or rather that she was doing anything out of the ordinary, Ginny walked to the shop door; not too fast, not too slow. Relief flooded her as she reached the door and stepped inside, glad to be away from any eyes that might've been watching her.  
"I'll be with you in a minute!" a feminine voice called out form somewhere in the back of the shop. Ginny held her breath and bit her bottom lip. The relief that she had just felt now turned to a butterfly, fluttering in her stomach.  
'What was I thinking?' Ginny asked herself. 'Why did I decide to come here? Just turn and leave. Leave and go home.' Ginny got ready to turn and leave, but froze when a beautiful blonde girl in her late teens/early twenties, the owner of the voice she had heard, stepped out of the back room. With her head down as she wiped the dust off of her hands, Ginny couldn't see her face, but she didn't need to. It was a face she knew all too well, carved into her memory from the time she had spent looking at it, caressing its every detail.  
Ginny smiled at the memory. The woman's graceful features made her seem like a good spirit from the other side of the veil. Her porcelain skin, the beautiful smile, the way her blonde hair cascaded down over her shoulders, the piercing blue eyes; there always seemed to be something there in her eyes that Ginny just couldn't grasp. What made the woman so beautiful, so wondrous, was the way her features fit together so naturally, so perfectly.  
"Just got in a new shipment," the woman said without looking up, "trying to get everything in order. It's a bloody mess back-" the woman cut off when she saw who she was talking to. Her face which at first had a business-like look on it, changed to surprise, and then to an indescribable emotion settling somewhere between happiness and curiosity as she tried to hide her shock at seeing the young Weasley girl standing there in front of her.  
Each of them held the other's gaze, neither of them really knowing what to say.  
"Ginny," the blonde finally spoke.  
Ginny was sure Nicci would be upset that she was there. "Nicci, I"  
"How are you?" Nicci cut in. Ginny's face erupted in to wide smile as she stepped forward and embraced the older woman in front of her. At first, Nicci just stood there, unsure of what to do, but swept away by her confused emotions, she grabbed Ginny and held the girl tight to her body. The two stood sheltered in each other's embrace for several minutes before finally stepping apart. Silence took over again.  
"It's been a long time." Nicci finally said, still taking Ginny in as though she was trying to determine whether or not she was actually there.  
"I'm sorry," Ginny answered in reply.  
"Don't be. It's not entirely your fault," Nicci reassured her. "I could have dropped by or owled. I guess I just got a little busy"  
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, "me too." Not really knowing what exactly to say, or how to say, Ginny glanced around at the once familiar shop.  
"Not much has changed since you were here last," Nicci said as she watched Ginny's eyes roam over the shop.  
"Nicci, do you remember when we broke up?" Ginny asked, causing Nicci's attention to perk.  
"Well… of course," Nicci answered.  
"Do you remember how we agreed that we could always come to each other for help?" Ginny asked, locking eyes with Nicci. Since Nicci didn't look away, Ginny accepted that as a yes and continued on. "I hate that we haven't talked since then, and I hate it that the first time we do talk it's so I can ask for your help, but it's something I've got to do… You're the only one I know to ask for help, and the only one I trust anyhow"  
"What is it, Gin?" Nicci asked concerned.  
"Do you remember why we broke up?" Ginny asked. For a split second before she answered, jealousy flickered like lightning through Nicci's deep blue eyes.  
Nicci nodded and said "Her," for confirmation.  
"I want to forget her. I want to move on," Ginny said with hesitant finality.  
"What happened?" Nicci asked.  
"Long story," Ginny told her.  
"Want to talk about it?" her former girlfriend asked her.  
"Yes. Please?" Ginny answered, tears taking her over again.  
"Of course," Nicci said as she hugged the younger girl. "Just give me a minute," Nicci walked to the door and locked it, spelling it and the windows from burglars before leading Ginny to her flat above the shop.

* * *

"So you want my help finding a potion or spell that will make you forget about her?" Nicci asked rhetorically over her cup of tea. Ginny nodded a yes; a reply that made Nicci sigh. "You sure?" she double checked.  
"No," Ginny answered, "but I'm sure that I can't handle this anymore"  
"So why not just make her a love potion?" Nicci asked. "It would be a lot simpler and you'd have what you want"  
"Because that's not fair to her… or my brother," Ginny explained. "And besides, I'd rather have the satisfaction of knowing she wants me for who I am and of her own free will. Not because of some love potion"  
Nicci smiled at the younger girl's nobility. "Very mature," she said. "But Gin… forgetting about her… there's got to be a better solution than that. Remember the old saying "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,"? If you forget all about her it would be worse than losing her"  
"I can't live my life based on old sayings. And besides, I could never lose her because she'll never be mine to lose!" Ginny came back.  
"You don't know that," Nicci told her, "Sooner or later, she'll see it Gin. There's no way she can't"  
"Argh!" Ginny let out. "It's happening again"  
"What's happening?" Nicci asked.  
"My hopes are being lifted, that's what"  
"And what's wrong with that!" Nicci asked her, confused.  
"Everything! Everything is wrong with that. That's why I'm here! Because I know that as soon as my hopes get built up, something will happen again to break me down. I don't want this feeling anymore. I can't stand feeling hopeless like this, Nicci… I can't stand it. I just have this worthless feeling like I'll never be good enough. And I'm not good enough for her…" Ginny finished, letting her emotions flood through her words. Nicci looked as if she had just been slapped.  
"Ginny. Don't say that. Don't ever let me hear you say that," she said slowly, her voice hardly even audible. "You… you are the most beautiful, caring, loving, kind person I have ever met. And if Hermione is too shallow to see through a rule of society that says she has to like boys to see how great you really are, then she doesn't deserve you. Ginny, you deserve best. Someone who will treat you like a queen," Ginny's face blushed red.  
"Nicci-" Ginny tried to stop her.  
"No Gin, I'm serious. You know how I feel about you. I hate to see you so… defeated like this. Especially over some girl that's not even worth it. It's not you"  
"She is worth it," Ginny said, trying to keep the heat out of her voice while defending her love.  
"No one that doesn't realize what a great person you are is worth it," Nicci argued back.  
"Well what am I supposed to do?" Ginny asked.  
"… I don't know. I don't like your idea of forgetting her though. It seems too much like you're giving up, and the Ginny I know and love would never give up"  
"What else is there to do"  
"I've an idea… but you probably won't like it"  
"So what is it"  
"Tell Hermione. Tell her how you feel. See what she says, how she feels. Give time for the idea to sink in with her. If she is totally disgusted with it, I'll erase that part of her memory and help you with your potion,"

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Ginny said taking a deep breath as she stood in front of Nicci's fireplace.  
"Just relax. I'll be right there behind you. Just tell her everything; tell her how you feel. Remember, if it goes wrong, I'll update her memory. But Gin, from what you've told me about her, she doesn't seem like the type of person who would judge you, and if she is, then maybe you should forget about her. I just want you to try this first. You never know. She might just feel the same about you," Nicci said.  
"Fat chance," Ginny mumbled.  
"Never know until you try," Nicci said as she reached for her floo powder. Before her hand ever reached the jar full of the magic dust, screams followed by maniacal laughter from the streets below pierced the late afternoon silence. The color fled from Nicci's face as the comprehension of what was happening flooded over her.  
"You've gotta go," a panicked Nicci demanded, thrusting the jar towards Ginny.  
"What's going on?" Ginny asked.  
"Death eaters"  
"Wha-" Ginny started, not understanding what was happening.  
"You've gotta get out of here! Go before it's too late"  
Without warning, the screams and laughter hushed, letting a deafening eerie silence take over. Ginny looked at Nicci and then towards the window, too scared to do much else.  
"Gin go!" Nicci screamed, but it was too late. A blinding flash ripped through the flat. A pain like she had never experienced before tore through Ginny's body. She heard a woman screaming, but through the searing pain, she couldn't understand what was going on around her. With a deafening boom, the exterior wall of Nicci's flat was blasted away. As the wall crumbled to the ground below, Ginny's knees buckled beneath her.  
Her head connected with something hard on her way down to the floor. As she lay there, her mind couldn't grasp anything going on around her; she couldn't understand what any of the screaming and loud booms meant.  
A white fuzz started clouding her vision. At first she tried to blink it away, but the white light promised peace and serenity; her own private Shangri-La.  
"I'm sorry," a woman whispered into her ear as she hugged Ginny's body close to her own. Ginny didn't know why the woman was crying or why she was sorry, but she wished she could make it better.  
The last thing Ginny saw before her vision clouded white and her mind drifted into nothingness was a pretty blonde woman with tears coursing down her face.

* * *

"Not here?" Ron asked. "She has to be. She said she was going straight home… that was hours ago"  
"Ronald Weasley, I cannot believe you would be so careless!" Molly Weasley screeched upon finding out that Ron and Hermione didn't know where Ginny was. "You let her go by herself? Of all the senseless things you and your brothers have done, I do believe this tops the charts. She is only 15 years old! I can't believe"  
"Molly," her husband cut her off, "We weren't here to tend to them. We can't place all the blame on Ron"  
"I was there too, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione told her, with tears in her eyes.  
"Hermione, dear, don't blame yourself for this. Ginny isn't your responsibility." Mrs. Weasley told her gently.  
"Molly? Arthur?" Tonks said from the doorway. Molly and Arthur turned to face her.  
"Dumbledore just sent word that there was a Death Eater attack on the outskirts of Diagon Alley. All members of the Order, except those assigned to home base are requested to apparate immediately to the Leaky Cauldron for further instructions"  
With her words, Molly burst into tears.  
"What is it?" Tonks asked.  
"Ginny's gone missing. The last place we know for sure that she was at is Diagon Alley." Arthur explained with the tears building up in his eyes threatening to spill over.  
Tonks paled as she heard the news, but retained her composure. "I'll inform the rest," she said and apparated out.

* * *

Footnote: Nicci is based on one of my favorite characters from the Sword of Truth Series… well, looks-wise anyhow. They do have one other likeness. I'll give you a cookie if you can point it out )  
Chapter 5 should be done pretty soon... 


	5. Floo Powder and Mediwizards

**Author's Note**: ((_apparates in and looks around to see if anyone's gonna throw something at me for the long delay)) _Sorry 'bout that… Uhm… no explanation for it really, I'm just a lazy ass. OoO I got through the first semester of my junior year, and I'm still alive, but homework is kicking my butt. … I've been with my girlfriend for almost six months now. smiles really big Anyhow… this chapter was a bit difficult to write, so I didn't really know how to approach it. I'm still not 100 percent satisfied with it, but it's headed in the right direction. But yeah, y'all should talk to me sometime… I like talking to new people, and could always use someone to talk to. My profile links to my LJ and has my id's for different messengers in it… Happy New Year to everyone!!

Now to the next order of business

V: _((hugs))_

PhoenixJay27 (jess) : _(( hugs))_

_((hands wyndnfyr a cookie for making a guess))_

driven to insanity : wow ((_blushes))_

Lady Felton1 : that's a good idea… I might try it sometime… probably after this fic though seeing as how it takes me forever to update just this one

cheeruplittleemokid : yeah… sorry… took a little longer than a month…

Charmed Lassie : uhm… looks around innocently I would never

To Everyone Else Who Reviewed : thanks for the support and the comments, you have no idea how much it helps… unless you're a writer too, then you know exactly what I mean.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Floo Powder and Mediwizards**

Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley sat quietly in the sitting room waiting for any scrap of news an Order member might bring them.

Mrs. Weasley was sitting on the edge of the large arm chair as if she might stand up at any second and walk away. Hermione and Ron sat at separate ends of the couch, each looking shameful and guilty. Being together right now felt wrong to them knowing that Ginny was missing and that they were at the root of the reason.

All Order members who had been sent to Diagon Alley after the Deatheater attack were informed about Ginny and were to report back to headquarters with any new leads on her where-abouts. It had only been ten minutes since Tonks and Mr. Weasley had left, but it seemed like an eternity to the ones left in the house at Grimmauld Place.

Ron looked to Hermione who was sitting there on the couch with an empty expression on her face while silent tears slid down her cheeks.

"Hermione?" Ron said to get his girlfriend's attention. She didn't reply with words, but instead met his gaze. "It's not-" Hermione waved her hand, dismissing his words and leaving him quiet.

Ron then looked to his mother who had a clear expression of worry on her face.

"Mum, I-" Ron began to talk.

"Shhh," he was interrupted before he could begin.

Ron sat on his end of the couch, longing to explain that it wasn't his fault; that he didn't mean for anything to happen; that he just wanted a day away with his girlfriend. An unusual, uncomfortable silence filled the house as it's three current occupants sat staring into space.

Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life in a green flash. Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley stood up in a hurry, not realizing what was happening at first and then expecting it to be some member of the Order with news about Ginny. None of them expected what came next.

Nicci staggered out of the fireplace clutching a limp body covered in so much dirt, soot, and blood that it was almost unrecognizable except for the fiery red hair. Mrs. Weasley let out a gasp and Ron stepped forward towards Nicci, at the same time Nicci collapsed. Ron caught Nicci and Ginny and staggered under the weight of the unfamiliar woman and his sister.

Mrs. Weasley emitted a racking sob and rushed forward reaching for her daughter. "Get some help," Ron urged Hermione, who was standing frozen to the floor with tears pouring down her face, her eyes locked on Ginny's limp form. Hermione's mouth trembled and she opened it as if she were going to say something, but instead, turned her head and walked quickly from the room, not knowing exactly where she was going to go for help.

"How's she doing" Charlie Weasley asked quietly as he walked into the sitting room at 12 Grimmauld Place several hours later.

"The mediwizards are still with her" Ron informed his older brother as he paced in front of the fire place.

"Have they identified the person who brought her in yet?" Charlie inquired. Ron nodded a yes and then answered his brother's question.

"Dumbledore did. Said she was a student at Hogwarts a few years ago. Nicci Pascal I think he said." At the sound of the name, Charlie's face went blank before the the shallow lines of worry on his face changed into lines of deep question. His eyes seemed to change shapes as a thought flickered through his mind.

"What was… why was Ginny with Nicci?" Charlie asked suspiciously, wondering briefly if his family was keeping him in the dark about certain aspects of his little sister's life. The thought left immediately though as he watched the genuine expression of cluelessness in his brother's eyes. Ron shook his head from side to side and shrugged his shoulders. A light bulb seemed to have gone off in Charlie's head, but rather than push the subject too hard, he asked a different question.

"So how's Nicci?" Charlie asked Ron.

"Mediwizards said she wasn't as serious as Ginny, and that she would be back to normal with rest. She was drained when she got here," came Ron's reply. Charlie made a gesture with his head to show that he understood and then sat on the couch to contemplate his new thought and wait on any news that might come about the Deatheater attack or about how Ginny and Nicci were.

Ron walked to the couch and sat down next to Hermione, reaching to hold her hand. Instead of accepting his hand however, Hermione fled the room, taking the stairs two at a time until she reached the bedroom that she and Ginny shared. Ron just stared behind her, wondering what he had done wrong. Charlie, whether he was pretending not to, or because he was deep in thought, seemed not to notice.

For the hours that they sat there, the two boys remained silent, both deep in thought.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered the sitting room sharing the same grim expression on their faces. Neither Ron, nor Charlie could bring them self to ask how Ginny was for fear of receiving bad news about their baby sister. Looking at the faces of their two sons, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took seats adjacent to one another, each on the verge of tears and, each waiting for the other to talk first. Before any of them had a chance to talk, Hermione was standing in the doorway with her bushy hair in disarray, her cinnamon eyes red and puffy, and her cheeks stained with tears. As the four looked up at her with solemn expressions on their faces, her eyes brimmed over with fresh tears.

"How is she?" Hermione managed to ask, her voice trembling. Mrs. Weasley looked Hermione in the eye, and before she could say anything, her expression had told Hermione all she needed to know. Hermione looked down crying right there in the doorway, and despite or rather in spite of her own grievance, Mrs. Weasley rushed forward to Hermione, enveloping the teenager in her arms; sheltering her from the heartaches of life.

"Ginny has a head injury," Mr. Weasley informed the room dryly. "The mediwizards had to transport her to St. Mungo's. They're not sure if she'll make it through the night, but the said that if she does, then she'll be in the clear."

Hermione clung to Mrs. Weasley like a child might to their parent on their first day of school, afraid to let go. "I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley," Hermione began, "I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry," Hermione kept repeating over and over.

"Hermione dear, stop. What have you to be sorry for?" Mrs. Weasley asked of her. "You did nothing anyone else wouldn't have done."

"I did Mrs. Weasley," Hermione explained. "I was being selfish. Ginny wanted to take me out because I wasn't feeling up to myself. I was the reason Ginny was there. If I had only taken a few minutes to walk Ginny back…only a few…"

"Hindsight is 20-20. You weren't to know what was coming," Mrs. Weasley comforted the bushy haired girl. "You can't blame this on yourself. The fault lies in more than one place and mostly on Ginny herself. She made a decision to go somewhere other than home. Nicci said-"

"Nicci?" Hermione asked.

"The woman who bro-"

"Yes, she brought Ginny in. Is she awake yet?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"She was for a while. She was just given a dreamless sleep potion to help her sleep." Hermione looked as if in thought and silence again swept the room.

"So what did Nicci have to say," Charlie asked, suddenly very curious.

"Not too much. She was extremely weak," Mrs. Weasley informed them.

"Between apologies, we were able to gather that she and Ginny were friends and Ginny stopped by to see her. They were have tea with the Deatheaters attacked in the street outside her shop and the force from the blasts is what got to them. Luckily though, the fire place was close by and she had floo powder," Mr. Weasley finished for them.

"How did she get in here?!" Three stunned voices came at the Weasley parents.

"That's what Dumbledore and other Order members are trying to figure out now."

* * *

Sorry it's so short... the next chapter should be along soon... 


	6. Reign of Silence

**Author's Note:** Uhrm… my gf is grounded so I've had a bit of extra time on my hands to write. Sorry this chapter is so short, but if I added anymore to it, it'd take away from it, ya know? I'll make up for it in the next chapter though, it should be pretty long. I already have 3 pages hand written of chapter seven, ((which usually ends up being about 2 - 2½ pages typed)) and there's a lot more to come before the end of chapter seven. It'll probably also take me a while to write, so my next update might take a while.

_V_: massive thanks for being my beta. I understand that you're busy, but I'll never forgive you. Nah, I'm kidding, of course I forgive you babe, you're awesome

_Jessie_: Don't let 'em poke you

_Julia_: Thanks for the help and support, you're a doll **:-p**

_Mayo_: Thanks for updating your fics more often than me and giving me something to do **:-D** Oh and to answer your questions, look at Charlie's and Nicci's ages… both of your questions will be answered in the next chapter though.

_Icy-Shadow_: Thank ya for the cookie, writing gives me the muchies!

_Crazy Courtney_: haha, I'm glad you're hooked, slash/femmeslash is greatness

_Brokentoy19_: Yes, unrequited love sucks big time

_To anyone I forgot to mention_: Thanks for the reviews, they help **:-D** Lots of love guys

* * *

**Chapter Six: Reign of Silence**

The Order members who had been sent to Knockturn Alley after the attack had been in and out of the house giving their reports to Dumbledore, making the night noisy. But now, the silence was demanding to be heard.

Each person there in the sitting room of the Black house had different thoughts running through their heads, but each of the thoughts related back to Ginny in some way.

Ron had long before drifted into sleep, as had Mr. Weasley. Charlie sat silently with thoughts churning in his mind, demanding his attention. Mrs. Weasley was sitting with an arm around Hermione who just sat there with a thoughtless look on her face that was extremely foreign to her features.

By the timeTonks entered the room, only Mrs. Weasley and Charlie were still awake.

"Molly?" Tonks approached with a soft voice. Mrs. Weasley glanced up at her and gave her the best smile she could manage, given the current situation. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to bring you some tea. It has a sleeping potion added to it to help y-"

"No thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley declined tactfully.

"But Dumbedore-"

"Molly," the Hogwarts headmaster said softly as he entered the room. "You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and exhausting yourself tonight by not sleeping won't help you at all,"

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she might object, but instead pursed her lips and took a cup of tea from the tray Tonks was holding out to her. Tonks then turned to Charlie, offering him a cup as well. He took it without any objection. Tonks then sat the tray on the coffee table, took her cup of tea and had a seat.

"It's been a long night," she said with a yawn.

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, "anything new with Ginny or Nicci?" he asked. Tonks shrugged her shoulders and looked to Dumbledore who was standing in the doorway. The white haired old man stepped farther into the room.

"Nicci will be fine by morning. The mediwizards put her on a day of bed rest. Ginny hasn't waked up yet,"

**

* * *

**

"Should we wake her up yet?"

"She had a long night last night, let her sleep for a while longer."

Hermione shut her eyes tight against the sound. She had had a bad dream the night before about a Deatheater attack. Ginny had been hurt in it.

"She's going to want to see her too,"

_See who? _Hermione thought.

"She'll see her. Just give her a while more to rest."

_What were they talking about?_

Once Mrs. Weasley and Tonks had left hers and Ginny's room, Hermione opened her eyes a tiny bit to peak at the red hair that would be protruding from the top of the blanket of the next bed. There was no red hair coming from the blanket. Hermione's eyes opened wider, Ginny's bed was perfectly made except that there was an indention in the top of the covers as if someone had been laying there.

Hermione sat up and looked around the room hoping that maybe Ginny had just gotten up early. Looking around only confirmed what Hermione had been trying to convince herself wasn't true.She layed back down and squeezed her eyes shut hoping to fall back to sleep so that she could give reality another chance to become a dream. Thoughts of the last 24 hours caused turmoil in her mind.

Finally giving in to the fact that this wasn't a dream, Hermione got out of the bed. Dizziness and headache that comes along with fatigue made her sit back down. She pressed her hands tight to her head to stop her head form splitting open. After gathering herself, Hermione stood back up and walked out of the room.

Everyone was already at the breakfast table when Hermione walked in.

"Sit and have a bite," Mr. Weasley told her, "We're going to see Ginny later."

**

* * *

**

It was only the second time Hermione had ever been inside of St. Mungo's, and the first time she had ever been into this ward. The air seemed to sedate the mood of the room. Even the nurses moved about slowly and uncheerfully. Hermione wished that she wouldwake up already, this dream wasn't fun.

They'd been sitting there in the waiting area for almost 20 minutes now with no one saying a word. Hermione began to have the irrational fear that if anyone spoke, it would shatter the stiff air there that surrounded them. The group remained in silence until a rather handsome dark-complected man walked in. He looked like an angel, come right down from heaven to make the mortals feel inadequate. He was tall, strong, and blindingly handsome, with chiseled Greek-god features, a head of thick, shiny, black hair that reflected the light in the room, and deep chocolate eyes. Hermione scolded herself for noticing something like that given the circumstances.

"You lot must be the Weasley's," he spoke to the group and added a smile to his words. The man's charming smile radiated through the grim vibes in the air, giving the people in the room a new hope.

He had the Weasley's attention; realizing this, he continued without waiting for them to respond.

"Ginny is in stable condition," he told them. "She is awake now, but-"

"Can we see her?" Mrs. Weasley asked, interrupting the doctor.

"Yes, of course," he said with a nod of his head. "Follow me. She won't be awake for long." The doctor led them through several doorways and down a long while hall. At the end of the hall he motioned to a door. "Mrs. Weasley," he said, looking up towards where she could be. She wasn't there though, the Weasley's had already entered the room where the youngest red headed child was.

Ginny looked startled when the large group of people spilled into her room. She dropped the dinner fork she was eating with and eyed each one of the people in her room curiously.

"Sukesh?" Ginny called out of her door to the man standing outside. The doctor that had led the group to her room, Dr. Sukesh, walked the rest of the way inside, looking only at Ginny. "Sukesh, who are all these people?" Ginny asked him.

Dr. Sukesh hung his head, no longer able to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

"They're your family."

**

* * *

**

"I'm sorry," Dr. Sukesh explained to the rest of the Weasley family. They had all filed out into the hallway and looked to Sukesh for an explanation. "I mean tto tell you before you went in there, but when I started to tell you, you had already walked into the room."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just stood there. Mrs. Weasley looked as if she had just been struck by lightning and Mr. Weasley as if he'd shatter if anyone touched him.

It had been an hour since the Weasley's had been told of Ginny's condition. The Weasley's and Hermione were standing there in Ginny's room; no one was saying anything. Hermione noticed how silence was beginning to reign over the once rambunctious group of red heads.

Ginny was eyes each person in her room over and over again. Each time she looked at Hermione, her eyes seemed to snag before roaming over her features.

"You're not related to me are you?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"No, I'm… just a friend," Hermione told her.

"One of my friends?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, one of your friends," Hermione spoke softly.

"I dreamt of you," Ginny said. "You must be a really good friend."

* * *

**Footnote:** Sukesh is a character I'm borrowing from Lori's PoU fandom, he's _so_ great :-p 


	7. Home

**AN**: Sorry it's so boring. Dunno when the next update will be, soon I hope… 

**To the one that asked if I wanted extra reviews**: No, and if you noticed, I deleted the ones that were posted in response to the Author's Note. If I wanted more reviews, I would have kept writing hetero fanfiction pairings because a lot more people follow those.

**To everyone else**: Thanks for the encouragement. I was really going to stop writing after HBP came out. I don't really like AU fics, but I enjoy writing this one.

**V**: Thanks for betaing me, lots of love.

This chapter is dedicated to **Stalker88**. You should all thank her. I don't think I would have ever gotten around to writing it if it weren't for her.

* * *

"Ginny must have received a pretty hard blow in Knockturn Alley," Sukesh had said to the Weasley family. "Muggles call this amnesia. What happened is that the impact knocked Ginny's memory from her body. Her memory went one way and her body went the other. Her memory is in constant search for her body.

"A good way to help her memory find her body is to go about your routine as normal. Try to keep it the way she was used to. Try to incorporate things into her daily routine that she might have a fond memory of.

"When it's time for her to go back to Hogwarts, there shouldn't be a problem. She will still know the things she has learned, but she won't remember where she learned them from.

"There really isn't much else we can do other than wait"  
That had been two weeks ago. Today was Ginny's first day back from St. Mungo's, and as the mediwizards had instructed them, the Weasleys went about their routine as normal. Mr. Weasley was back at work, Mrs. Weasley was back to disinfecting the house, Ron was doing who knows what, and Hermione and Ginny were in their shared room.

"This trunk is where you kept all of your old journals," Hermione told Ginny and patted the top of a trunk that sat at the end of Ginny's bed. "I think you kept all of them - except for your first year at Hogwarts," she said with a reminiscent smile. "You should probably start with the first journal you have from after you started school."

Ginny nodded. She felt kind of shy. It was strange to be surrounded by all these people who knew her, but that she couldn't remember knowing. A few minutes passed in silence. Neither of the girls really knowing what to say to one another. "Lunch will be ready soon," Hermione said, trying to make small talk.

Ginny nodded again and smiled. "I'm getting kind of hungry," she admitted. "The food at that hospital was pretty gross." Hermione smiled back. Before either of them could say anything else, Ron walked in the room and plopped down on Hermione's bed.

"Seriously, Ron, have you ever thought about knocking?" she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I have," he admitted, "But then I'd miss that little annoyed expression I've grown so fond of." Ron smiled when Hermione scowled again. "Sorry," he said, still smiling. "Just came to tell you that Harry will be here tonight."

"How do you know?" she asked excitedly.

"Tonks just came by. I was down stairs. I overheard her telling mum that he'll be here in the morning." Ron told her.

"That's great," Hermione said.

"Who's Harry?" Ginny butted in.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. It was easy to pretend that nothing was different when they looked at Ginny. But when she spoke, when she asked questions that she should know the answers to, it made them both uncomfortable.  
"Harry's my best mate," Ron explained.

"We've all been friends since our first year at Hogwarts," Hermione added in.

"Harry's famous. Wizards around the globe know his name," piped Ron. "When he was just a baby, he stopped the most evil wizard that ever existed from destroying the world."

"And for the last few years," Hermione added in, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the dark wizard Ron mentioned, has been trying to regain strength. Harry was able to stop him twice, but You-Know-Who finally made his way back into power. People say that Harry is the only one who can put an end to the Dark Lord's reign."

"We're talking about him like he's a character out of a story," Ron said, interrupting Hermione's explanation. "A lot of weird stuff happens to him, but Harry's as normal as you or me," he said.

* * *

Charlie Weasley covered his flaming red hair with his hood before ducking into Knockturn Alley. Nicci had left the Headquarters before anyone had a chance to question her. Today was the first day since the Death Eater's attack that he was able to get out, and he intended to find out what his sister had been doing with Nicci.

He'd never been to her shop before, but he knew that it was somewhere around there. The streets were nearly empty. No one wanted to be associated with the Dark Arts in times like these, and the ones that did were busy doing gods only know what. He scanned the front of the stores, keeping a watchful eye out for the store he was looking for.

It was a potions and charms shop rumored to sell things that were so strong that they were on the verge of being illegal. He found the shop. The front was boarded up and a large sign that said "CLOSED" was propped in front of the door. A lot of the stores on this street bore similar signs. Why would Voldemort attack a place like this that was so full of his supporters.

He knocked at the door, but received no answer. He wasn't going to give up that easily. He tried the doorknob. It was locked. "Alohamora!" he whispered, flicking his wand at the lock. No change. "Damn," he said aloud. It had been bewitched with something stronger than a simple locking spell.

"I thought your kind put others in jail for breaking laws, Charlie," came a strong feminine voice from behind him. He turned on his heel to come face to face with Nicci. She was a lot paler than Charlie remembered from Hogwarts, and she didn't look like she'd eaten since she left the Headquarters.

"I-" he started.

"Right," Nicci cut him off. She was obviously in a bad mood.

Charlie opened his mouth and closed it several times. "I just want to know what you were doing with my sister," he said finally.

"I bet you do," Nicci said with a maliscious grin.

"Oh cut it Nicci, we're not at Hogwarts anymore! There's no one here for you to impress, I just want to know what my sister was doing with y-"

"If your sister wanted you to know, she would have told you," Nicci said, interrupting him again.

"My sister lost her memory!" Charlie protested.

"This wasn't the first time Ginny visited me," Nicci taunted him. Tired of listening to him, she pushed past him and to the door of her shop.

"Is she like you?" Charlie demanded. Nicci stopped short, turning and glaring at him.

"Like me?" she asked, a fire in her eyes. "Charlie Weasley, you have no idea what it means to be like me," she shot, venom dripping from every word.

Charlie sighed. "I didn't come here to fight with you," he told her. "I'm just worried about my sister."

"Well it seems that it's a little late for that," she said, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Ginny had come to her to forget her heartache. When she left, she'd forgotten more than that. Nicci couldn't help but blame herself. She knew that the Death Eaters had been looking for her. She never should have let Ginny in.

"How long?" Charlie asked, knowing from the tears that there had been more than friendship between Nicci and Ginny. Nicci shook her head. She was now looking at her feet. "How long?" Charlie repeated the question.

"Ginny was a private person," the blonde woman told Charlie. "It would be betraying her trust to tell you something that she didn't want you to know." Charlie let out a heavy sigh and pursed his lips. His heart was pounding the inside of his chest. The fact that Ginny could be so distant with her family and so close to this stranger.

He supposed that while Nicci was a stranger to him, she had become Ginny's friend. "My family doesn't know anything about you," Charlie said to her. "They want to know what she was doing with you. What do I tell them?" he asked.

"Why tell them anything?" Nicci asked. "Pretend you don't know." Charlie frowned at the idea.

"Look," he said. "It's hard enough for me thinking about the possibility of my little sister being... like you. But that doesn't change the fact that she's my little sister and that it's my job to protect her. She obviously didn't want any of us knowing or she would have told us," he continued. "My family wants to know what happened to Ginny.

"They're not going to stop until they find out, or at least until some of the mystery surrounding the accident is cleared up. The Order is going to find out as much about you as they possibly can. And with your track record at Hogwarts...they're going to find out," he shook his head. "Ginny didn't want them to know. So for her sake, come by, tell them that you were walking home and that you found her.

"Make up a lie, just come and tell them something. If Ginny didn't want them to know what she was doing, then neither do I."

* * *

"Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs to the three kids. Without waiting for a response, she walked back into the kitchen and began setting the table. With a flick of her wand, all the plates were in place. Another flick for the silverware. And a final flick for the cups. "Any minute now," she muttered to herself.

"Any minute now what?" Ginny asked as she sat down at the table. Mrs. Weasley jumped. She hadn't expected them to be in the kitchen already.

"Your father should be home for dinner any minute now," she said. "Always running late, that one," she complained. Ron and Hermione had told her about this. About how her mother was always worried, even when there was nothing to be worried about. Ron and Hermione looked at Ginny with a shared smile.

Mrs. Weasley had just finished dishing out the food when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock on the wall again and frowned. "Couldn't be Arthur home this early," she said walking out to open the door. Ron and Hermione both scrambled to the kitchen door, expecting to see Harry when Mrs. Weasley opened the door.

"Ahh," Ron grumbled, coming back to the table and sitting down. "Just Charlie." Hermione sat down as well and took a drink of her pumpkin juice. The three were just beginning to eat when they heard voices in the hallway. There were two women and a man. "Thought it was just Charlie," Hermione asked, prompting a shrug from Ron.

"Charlie is my oldest brother, right?" Ginny asked.

"Close," Ron said. "Charlie is second oldest. Bill is older," he explained.

"Oh," Ginny replied. At least she had tried.

Mrs. Weasley walked back into the kitchen followed by Charlie and Nicci.

"Hello Ginny," Charlie said with a smile and sat down next to her. "Have a seat," he said to Nicci and patted the one next to himself. "Ginny, this is-"

"Nicci." Ginny said, cutting him off. Mrs. Weasley's fork clattered to her plate. All eyes flew to Ginny.

"Ginny how did you know that?" Charlie asked her. She shrugged and looked in turn at the five sets of eyes that were fixed on her.

"I just have a face with a name," Ginny answered. "I don't remember how I know."

Mrs. Weasley looked to Charlie. This certainly added a twist to the story he and Nicci had told about how Nicci had just found Ginny lying in the street and decided to play the role of the good Samaritan.

"I think I told her my name before I got her back here. She was in and out of consciousness," Nicci quickly covered. Everyone in the room looked at one another. None of them really knew what to believe. Mrs. Weasley looked at Charlie and then to Nicci. Finally, she looked back down at her plate, not knowing what to say. Where to even begin.

When they were finished with dinner, Charlie and Nicci bade their goodbye. Neither of them wanted to wait around until Mrs. Weasley had concocted some questions to ask. They both knew that the story they had told was shaky and still left questions unanswered, but at least it threw suspicion away from Nicci.

* * *

"I thought you said Harry was going to be here," Hermione asked Ron before they went to bed.

"Tonks said he would be," the youngest Weasley boy replied with a sleepy yawn. "Well I'll believe it when I see it," Hermione said and leaned forward to give Ron a goodnight kiss. She looked over her shoulder at Ginny sitting on the bed watching them and thought better of it. She stepped out into the hallway where Ginny couldn't see them before kissing her boyfriend goodnight.

"What was that about?" Ron whispered.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Having to step out here to kiss me," Ron explained. Hermione shook her head. "Before she lost her memory, Ginny felt a little left out," she explained. "I just don't want to make her uncomfortable."

"She doesn't remember that she felt left out," Ron reminded Hermione, causing the girl to narrow her eyes.

"I think that was the most insensitive thing that I have ever heard you say," Hermione whispered back intensely. Without waiting for him to say anything, Hermione walked back into hers and Ginny's room and shut the door.

"I found the journal from my second year," Ginny told her when she walked back in. "It's really interesting."

Hermione smiled. "You used to have a really big crush on Harry," Hermione told her. "I noticed," Ginny replied, showing her an entry that she had signed 'Mrs. Ginny Potter', and another that had a big heart and 'Harry + Ginny' in the middle. "What happened?" Ginny asked.

"Uh, I guess you just sort of grew out of it," the older girl explained. "I think the only reason you liked him was because he was famous. The more you got to know him though, the more you realized he was just a normal person."

Ginny nodded her head in understanding as Hermione got into her bed. "Do I need to turn out the candle?" she asked Hermione.

"No, it's fine," the girl replied. "It'll be a while before I fall asleep."


	8. Memory and Hearache

Author's Note: Sorry it's so short...

* * *

When Harry arrived, Ginny wasn't sure how to act around him. The her in the journal she was reading was absolutely smitten with him. Hermione had told her that she had grown out of the crush, but she still wasn't sure how she was supposed to act around The Boy Who Lived. He had the most brilliant green eyes Ginny had ever seen, and his dark hair was always messy in a way that made his eyes stand out in stark comparison. 

When she'd first seen him, she could understand why she had been infatuated with him. When she talked to him, she didn't understand how she could have just grown out of having a crush on him. Everyone was nice to her, of course, but when Harry spoke to her, there was a sincerity about him that made her smile.

"I know what it's like not knowing who you are," Harry told Ginny after dinner one evening. "When I first found out that I was a wizard, I didn't know who I was, either. It was hard at first. Every one knew more about me than I knew about myself."

Ginny nodded. "How did you handle it?" she asked him.

"I just... lived." Harry shrugged to show that he wasn't being short with her; he just really didn't have much of an answer to offer. "I went day to day like everyone else. I tried to learn all that I could about myself, about my family. But ... everyone saw me as this ... hero." Harry frowned at the memory. "And I didn't even remember the event I was famous for. I just tried to be me."

The youngest Weasley child smiled. "But you remembered who you were before you were a wizard," she reminded him. "You remembered what your personality was like."

Harry laughed. "My personality is nothing now like it was then," he recalled. "It was like I got a chance to re-invent myself."

"Hard to reinvent myself if I don't know what the first invention was like," Ginny joked, causing Harry to smile. It was the first time she'd seen him smile since he got there.

"Just act the way that makes you comfortable," Hermione cut in. "The doctor said that you might never regain your memory. You have to act the way that makes you happy now. Not the way that might have made you happy before you lost your memory."

"I don't know about you two, but I would like my sister back," Ron interjected. He was obviously offended that Harry and Hermione would tell her not to worry about who she used to be.

"This is your sister, Ron," Hermione said, giving her boyfriend's hand a squeeze. "Whether she remembers it or not."

Ron shot her a glare. "Well _she_ doesn't remember that," he spat.

Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes. "Whether or not she remembers it, she's your sister. You should just be thankful she's alive," Hermione spat back, still squeezing his hand.

"I am thankful!," he exclaimed. "But I also want her to get her memory back."

"It's not that we _don't _want her to get her memory back," Harry said to Ron. "But she should get to act the way she feels instead of the way that would make _you_ comfortable until she does get her memory back."

Ron didn't say anything else, hoping that the others would just drop the conversation. He understood that they just wanted Ginny to be happy, but he wanted his little sister back.

The four walked up to the room that Hermione and Ginny shared, each of them plopping down on a bed. Harry explained how Dumbledore had decided to come and get him after the Death Eaters attacked Knockturn Alley.

"Said they were getting too bold," Harry told them. "He wants me where he, along with other wizards can keep a constant eye on me."

Hermione and Ron recounted their summer, Ron holding Hermione's hand protectively and smiling from ear to ear as they told him about their decision to be together. Hermione then told Harry about what had happened the day that Ginny lost her memory. Ron didn't say much, just nodding from place to place throughout the story.

Ginny had heard the story countless times, but still listened intently. When Hermione had finished the story, they group sat there in silence. "What do you suppose the Death Eaters attacked Knockturn Alley for?" Harry asked, finally breaking the silence.

Ron and Hermione both shook their heads. "You'd figure they would rally there, rather than attack it. It's a natural home for the dark arts," Ron mused.

"Maybe someone made You-Know-Who mad?" Hermione suggested.

Ron shrugged. "Well, whatever it is, I'm not too keen on cornering a Death Eater to find out."

Eventually, the conversation moved on to a lighter topic, Ron told Harry about Fred and George's joke shop, and produced the pocket chess set they'd given him. He was just about to set up a game, when Ginny let out a loud yawn.

"I'm going to go to sleep," she told them. "Can you take the game to your room?"

"Not a problem," Harry said with a nod, standing up from the bed. Ron stood up as well, still holding Hermione's hand.

"Come on," he said when he noticed that she didn't move to get up. "I haven't had a chance to beat you with this chess set yet," he added with a broad grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "As if you could," she teased. "I think I'm gonna stay here with Ginny though, I'm kind of tired myself."

Ron frowned. "Alright," he said. "Ready then Harry?"

Harry nodded and the two left the room.

Hermione wasn't really tired, she just didn't want to let Ginny out of her sight. Last time she had, it nearly cost them Ginny's life and did cost them her memory.

"So how far are you in your journal?" Hermione asked her.

"Not a tenth of the way," she admitted. "The beginning is all about how You-Know-Who opened something called the Chamber of Secrets." Ginny wasn't really sure she wanted to tell Hermione that. She wasn't really sure if it had actually happened, or if she had just had an over active imagination.

Hermione nodded and recounted the story from her own point of view. Ginny was surprised to find out that the story in her journal was compatible with Hermione's. The two talked about Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, Ginny asking questions, and Hermione filling in the gaps.

The two sat in silence for a time, Ginny absorbing all that Hermione had told her. She had learned a lot today and had a lot to think about. "Ready for bed?" Hermione asked, stretching.

"Yeah," Ginny said softly. Hermione knew it must be hard for Ginny to wrap her mind around all that had happened. Sleep would do her well. She laid on the pillow, her mind floating through the pages of the journal and the story that Hermione had told her. She wanted to stay awake and think about it, but her mind was already drifting into sleep.

_Ginny was standing outside of a door, one that looked somewhat familiar. She realized that it was the door to Ron's room. "Oh. Sorry. Talking to the picture," she heard herself say when her brother opened the door. A grin spread across her face. She presumed that she was laughing at herself for talking to a picture._

"_What did you need?" her brother asked impatiently, and somewhat rudely._

"_Uh, can we talk?" she heard herself ask him. She watched herself as if she were someone else. She wondered what they were going to talk about. _

"_Sure, I guess so," he answered slowly, opening his door wider as an invitation. "Come on in," Ten minutes later, she watched as she escorted a nervous Hermione to Ron's room. With a few more minutes of coaxing the two, she had Ron and Hermione sitting on the bed together holding hands, fingers entwined as they talked. _

_Putting on a false smile, Ginny stepped out of the room and walked like a soulless zombie to the room that she and Hermione shared. Once inside, she shut the door and slumped against it, sliding down onto the floor with her head between her knees crying. Although she was only watching herself from a distance, she felt the heartache eating at her._

Ginny woke up confused and looked around the room. It was still dark. She tried to pull memories of the dream back into her mind, but they were fading quickly. She remembered that she was sad in the dream. Heartbroken. She didn't know why. When she looked at Hermione, a stab of pain shot through her.

Suddenly, the dream flooded back to her. It took her a minute, but she came to understand why she had been so sad. She was lonely. Ron and Hermione had each other, but she didn't have anyone. No wonder she was so sad. The words in the diary floated across her mind. "Harry," she whispered aloud. She looked over to make sure that the sleeping Hermione hadn't been disturbed by her outburst, and then went back to her pondering.

'_The reason I was sad is because I never got over Harry.' _Ginny thought. _'Hermione and Ron both got what they wante_d, _but I didn't. I never really got over Harry, did I? I must have kept it a secret from Hermione, and that's why Hermione didn't know I was so lonely after she became Ron's girlfriend. She would be spending more time with him, and I would be all alone.'_

It all made sense to her. She pulled out her journal and walked to the window, using the light of the street lamps to ready by. It would be a while before she could go back to sleep. She read and read, but wasn't growing any sleepier. She wondered if Harry and Ron were still playing chess.

Making sure to be quiet, the youngest Weasley slipped to her bedroom door and out into the hallway, where she proceeded to walk to Ron's room. The light was still on and she heard Harry and Ron's voices from inside. Timidly, she knocked on the door before opening it a bit and poking her head inside.

"Couldn't sleep," she said as the boys looked up from their chess game. "Mind if I watch?"

"Sure," Ron said. "I'm just in the middle of beating the pants off of Harry." Harry frowned, and made a move, taking Ron's knight. Ron countered the move with one of his own. "Checkmate." He looked up at Ginny. "See?"

Harry threw a pillow at Ron, bouncing it off of his head. "Again," he said. "And this time, I'll win." As the new game started, Ginny came farther into the room and sat on the floor beside the chess board. The game was long and drawn out, but more interesting than sitting in her room reading. It was a close game all the way through, Ron letting Harry take the offensive side, and countering his moves. In the end, the game was a stalemate. Ginny didn't know if she remembered how to play the game or if she'd just caught on quickly to it.

"I'm gonna go ahead and go to bed," she informed the boys. "But tomorrow, I want to beat... I mean... I want to play you," she said with a smile to Ron who laughed.

"First thing in the morning, you're on.

* * *

The rest of the summer went smoothly, with Ginny learning bits and pieces about herself everyday. Hermione, still feeling guilty about Ginny's accident, hardly left the youngest red head's side (much to Ron's dismay). To Ginny, it seemed as if she was just getting comfortable when Mr. Weasley came home from work with their school books. 

"Ron! Ginny! Harry! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs as her husband set the miniaturized trunk containing all of the kids' school things in it.

"Don't know why we never thought of doing it this way before," Mr. Weasley commented, tapping the trunk with his wand. "Accresco," he said with the third tap, causing the trunk to grow to its regular size.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny came down the stairs together. "School starts in exactly one week," Mrs. Weasley told them. "Your school supplies need to be packed before then so that we don't have such a rush getting to Kings Cross."

"Our school supplies are here already?" Ron groaned, clearly not eager that school was already starting again.


	9. Back to School

**Author's Note (back by popular demand, hahahaha): **So I really have no explaination as to why, two years after I decided to discontinue this story, I have decided to finish it. I actually lost interest in writing this a full year or more before I actually decided to discontinue it. I just woke up a few mornings ago and wanted to finish it. So here I am.

**Love.me.or.leave.me:** Are you always so long winded in your reviews? JUST kidding! I LOVED your review. I wish everyone reviewed like that! Thanks a million

**Ev80:** Thanks for checking out my LJ. I update it about as often as I update this . I know, I'm a horrible person

**Tdolphing:** Am now! Here's the beginning of the end...

**To anyone who's interested in finding out what Nicci has in common with Nicci from Sword of Truth:** Good luck and if you figure it out, let me know, because I totally don't remember!

**Oh and P.S.** - I swear that when I first posted these chapters, they were a lot neater than they are now. was going through a lot of changes and stuff back then and it affected the stuff posted before.

**Chapter Nine: Back to School**

Ginny slept that night with the lightness of someone unfamiliar with their surroundings. She woke early the next day to the sound of someone, her mother she presumed, making breakfast downstairs. Though she hadn't gotten much sleep, she wasn't tired. The red head started her day full of curiosity and optimism.

Not wanting to wake her roommate, Ginny decided to read more of her old journal. She grew bored of reading the thoughts of a twelve year old after a few pages and decided to skip forward a bit. She put back the journal from her second year and instead pulled out the one from her third year. Glancing at the form of the other girl to make sure that she hadn't been too loud, Ginny settled back onto her bed and began reading again.

After only a few pages, she had decided that this journal was a lot more interesting than the previous one. It seemed that with entering her teenage years, she had learned to check her emotions with rationale. She had started questioning her crush on Harry instead of just writing about how she was so smitten with him. But from the way that she was looking for and defending her reasons for the crush, the older Ginny got the feeling that something was going on that hadn't been written down.

She knew the journal was hers, but she felt guilty, as if she were violating someone's privacy.

"How long have you been up?" Hermione asked when she finally stirred.

Ginny started before she remembered that she wasn't doing anything wrong. Hermione seemed not to notice.

"I'm not really sure," Ginny answered. "I guess for about a half hour or so."

"Why didn't you wake me? Did you sleep well?" the older girl asked, rising and stretching.

"Yeah," Ginny answered. "I think Ron and Harry are both still sleeping and I didn't want to bother you. Besides, I was content reading," she explained.

Hermione nodded her understanding. "Your mum will have breakfast ready soon," she told the other girl. "Are you hungry?"

Ginny hadn't noticed how hungry she was before Hermione mentioned it. She was reluctant to leave the journal, but knew that she could come back and read after breakfast. "Yeah, I feel like I haven't eaten in ages," she confessed.

A funny smile played at the older girl's features. Ginny might not remember that she was a Weasley, but her stomach did!

--

After breakfast, Ginny wanted to return to read more of her old journal, but was reminded of her promise to beat the boys at chess.

"I think I'd really rather go back upstairs and finish-"

"Oh you're not… _scared_ are you?" Ron taunted.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Scared? You wish," she flung back at him.

Hermione marveled at how much of her friend's fiery personality lingered, though her memory was gone.

"Oh, okay," Ron teased. "But so you know, I'd be scared too, if I had to play against me."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "You're on," she said, accepting the challenge.

Harry and Hermione shared a private smile as they watched the exchange between their friends. Both silently hoped that the pieces of Ginny's personality that presented themselves in moments like this would fit together and help to remind her of who she was.

As the day went on, Ginny started to feel more at ease; and as the fun increased, her desire to read the journal decreased. She only remembered it again later that night when she and Hermione retired to their room.

Remembering her curiosity from earlier that day, Ginny picked the journal up and plopped onto her bed to read. Hermione did the same, only, with a school book. Ginny smiled to herself, not understanding how anyone could find a text book interesting. Hermione was a special breed.

The thought flittered across her mind that it was funny how she remembered that text books were boring, yet she couldn't remember her own family.

She read the journal with interest, but because she had detailed every day, the reading was slow going. She still felt that there was something she hadn't written down, but didn't understand why. Why would she not write about something bothering her in her own personal journal?

"Hermione?" she asked.

"Yes?" came the reply, the bushy haired girl peering over the top of her book.

"Why do I remember some things, but not others?" Ginny asked her.

The older girl pursed her lips in thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know," she answered softly.

"Like, I just _know_ some things," Ginny explained. "I knew your face when I woke up, but I didn't remember your name. I knew Nicci's name when I saw her. I can't explain how. I get these feelings that there's something missing, or something more to the story sometimes. But right as I think I'm about to remember, I forget again."

"Don't think too hard about it," Hermione told her. "The doctor said it could take a while for you to remember everything."

"But why do I remember some things and not others?" Ginny asked.

"Magic is funny sometimes," the older witch said. "Maybe… maybe you were thinking of things when your memory was lost and you remember those things that you were thinking about when it happened." She looked doubtful of her own words even as they came out of her mouth, but it was all she had to offer.

Ginny thought about how she had remembered text books were boring. "I don't think so," she said, knowing that she wouldn't be thinking of text books unless she absolutely had to. It being summer time and not having classes, what reason would she have for thinking of books?

"I think I just did it again," she said slowly, realizing what she'd done.

"Did what?" Hermione asked.

"Did I enjoy school work?" the confused red head asked.

"No, not particularly," Hermione told her, not able to follow the other girl's train of thought. "Why?"

"I didn't think so," Ginny told her. "In fact, I knew that I didn't."

Hermione smiled. Maybe she would get her friend back sooner than she thought.

--

The next few days went the same. Ginny's understanding of her surroundings grew by the day, but still, her memory didn't come back. She wondered how much things had changed from before she had lost her memory.

For instance, she knew that Hermione was her best friend, but she also knew the guilt that the other girl felt over her memory loss. She couldn't distinguish whether the older girl's overly nice demeanor was always sincere.

Ron was different entirely. He was nice enough, but he was a lot easier to read. She knew she made him uncomfortable when she asked questions about herself, and for the most part, he treated her like a total stranger – which actually made things easier for her because she didn't feel any pressure to act like more than that toward him in return. She wondered how she would handle it if the situation had been reversed.

Her mum and dad kept a close watch on her. They told her stories every day about when she was younger, and she could sense the sadness they felt as they spoke. Through and through however, they made her feel comfortable, protected, and loved. She knew that she was lucky to have them as parents; she just wished she could remember loving them.

Harry was different all together. Where the others were always reminding her of the things she used to like and find fun, Harry instead, accepted that she might like different things. He let her figure things out on her own, and he treated her according to the way she acted now and not the way she used to act.

Ginny still read her journal bit by bit, but was growing wearisome of trying to remember who she was, instead of getting to be who she wanted. She couldn't help but enjoy being around Harry. He made her feel comfortable.

It was easy to see why she had liked him so much.

--

Ginny came downstairs one afternoon after taking a nap to find Hermione sitting on the couch, Ron stretched out beside her, his head on her lap as she read yet another school book. Unexplainable jealousy tore through her body as physically as if someone had split her in two with a dull kitchen knife. She was taken aback by the emotion; completely unaware of where it had sprang from.

Suddenly the jealousy left, leaving in its wake a terrible sadness. Her heart ached in a way that ripped the breath out of her lungs. She turned from the room before either of its two occupants had noticed her. She wanted to run back up the stairs to her bedroom and cry forever for no reason that she understood.

Turning sharply to do just that, she came face to face with Harry, bumping into him and nearly knocking him from his feet. Luckily enough, he was quick on his feet and managed to stay upright. She on the other hand would have fallen to the floor if his strong arms hadn't steadied her.

Embarrassment flooded through her, soaking through the unexplainable sadness. "Have a nice nap?" he asked sincerely, not giving the embarrassment enough time to settle.

"Yeah," she answered sheepishly, her face red. "You'd think I was sleep walking with as clumsy as I am."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said soothingly. "Everyone's always running into each other around all of these cramped corners," he lied, trying to make her feel better. It worked.

The red haired girl looked into his sparkling green eyes and then down at Harry's arms, still around her. At the same time, Ron walked through the door. From the look on his face, it was apparent that his eyes were also fixed on Harry's arms around his little sister. It was Harry's turn to go red in the face.

"Oh, I, uh," he quickly let go of Ginny. "Sorry," he said to no one in particular and then moved to walk into the room where Hermione still sat.

"What was that about?" Ron demanded before he made it past.

Harry turned, taking in a deep breath as he racked his brain. He knew what it had looked like to Ron and didn't know how his best friend would react.

"I got a bit dizzy and tripped and couldn't catch my footing," Ginny said quickly. "Harry caught me though. Lucky too, I wouldn't want to hit my head again."

Ron looked from one to the other, not entirely sure that he believed the girl.

Noticing that he wasn't exactly buying it, Ginny quickly gripped the wall. "Help me to a chair?" she asked Ron. "I'm still feeling a bit dizzy. I think I need to sit down."

Without hesitation, her big brother picked her up and carried her to the chair nearest where Hermione was sitting. "You okay?" he asked, sincerely concerned.

"I'll be alright," she assured him. "I think I just got a bit overheated during my nap and came down the stairs too quickly."

"Do I need to get mum?" he asked, already halfway across the room. Hermione looked up, worry lines evident on her face.

"No," Ginny said smoothly. "I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I just needed to sit down for a minute."

Ron stared at her for another second, before going to sit back down with Hermione.

"Alright. But if you even think you are starting to feel like that again, you'd better tell me," he said forcefully.

"I will," she said sweetly, in attempt to make him relax.

When Ron's attention had shifted away from her, the Weasley girl looked up at Harry, giving him a smile that said she was half ashamed for making her brother worry, but that her other half was glad she had been able to evade him asking questions. Harry returned the smile, impressed that she had been able to think so quickly and thankful that she had.

Ron was oblivious to what had occurred between them, but Hermione caught their smiles and could guess that there was more than met the eye. She was glad to see a real smile on Ginny's face again and couldn't help but admire the beauty that seemed to radiate from the girl's face when she smiled like that.

"Did you see the Daily Prophet this morning?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry disengaged himself from his own thoughts to answer. "No, why?"

"Chudley Cannons won last week's match against Wimbourne," he said proudly.

"About time they won one!" Harry teased, prompting Ron to chuck a pillow at his head.

While the boys talked about quidditch, Ginny thought to herself about what had happened just before she had run into Harry - the strange feelings she had felt. She didn't understand them, didn't understand where they had come from, why she had felt them, or what they meant. But she did understand that Harry had made her forget about them.

Maybe that's what she had sensed in the journal that she hadn't written down. Though she wasn't 100 percent sure of her theory, it made a lot of sense. She must have still liked Harry and had been trying to talk herself out of it because she thought he could never feel the same.

Ginny wondered back over the last few days that she had spent around Harry. Harry had been really nice to her. She wondered if he was that way with everyone.

Mrs. Weasley walked into the room and looked disapprovingly at the four of them sitting about. "You leave for Hogwarts day after tomorrow, and none of you have packed your trunks," she reminded them.

"Mum…" Ron groaned, eliciting a threatening look from his mother. "Alright, alright," he conceded, standing up and dragging himself off toward his room, following by Harry, Hermione and Ginny.

"Ginny dear," Molly Weasley called after them. "I've already packed the things you need," she told her. "But I left enough room for you to take a few extra things if you have anything you'd like to take with you."

Ginny smiled her thanks and continued up to see if there was anything else she wanted to take. Before she made it all the way to her room though, Harry stopped her in the hallway.

"Hey," he started out, not sure of what to say. "Sorry about earlier – about the… you know," he said, making a gesture with his arms to convey his meaning.

"What's there to be sorry for?" she asked softly, slightly surprised at her own boldness.

She looked up, her bright brown eyes meeting his brilliant green ones. They looked at each other, into each other, for a long moment. Harry smiled, breaking the gaze.

"I better go," he said in a near whisper. "Ron will be wondering where I've gotten off to."

Ginny nodded her understanding and then stood and watched him walk to the room he shared with her brother. It wasn't until she started walking to her own room that she realized she had been holding her breath.

Hermione seemed not to notice anything when Ginny walked in, or at least, didn't say anything about it if she did.

"I've gathered a few of the things you usually take with you," Hermione told her. "A few pictures and things."

"Thanks," Ginny said happily.

"My first year at Hogwarts, I took a few things I was familiar with to make me feel more comfortable," Hermione said. "I know that nothing here is really familiar to you, so I owled and had my parents pick this up for you." She handed Ginny a package wrapped in brown paper.

Smiling, Ginny took the package and carefully opened the paper, revealing a gorgeous leather bound book. "It's a new journal," Hermione explained. "Just in case you want to write or something."

The journal was beautiful, but Ginny was more warmed by the thought that her friend had put behind it. "Thank you," she said, setting the journal aside and giving her friend a hug.

Hermione smiled. "You're welcome."

--

The next day passed much too quickly for all of them. Before any of them were ready for it, they were stepping onto platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station. Ginny was more nervous than she let on. Outwardly, she was timid. Inside, she was absolutely terrified.

After assuring her parents that she would be okay, promising them that she would write as often as she could, and bidding them goodbye, Ginny followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione onto the train. People looked at her with interest as she passed, but she didn't recognize any of the faces. Finally, the group found an empty compartment and walked inside, followed shortly by a round-faced boy and a rather peculiar looking blonde haired girl.

Ginny noticed both of the new members of their group stealing nervous glances at her. The boy looked away sheepishly when she caught him, but the girl held her gaze.

"Everyone is saying you lost your memory in a Deatheater attack," she said. "Is it true?"

Ginny nearly choked on the straightforwardness that was the way of Luna Lovegood. "Yes," she managed.

"Ginny," Harry said, coming to her rescue. It was the first time he'd spoken directly to her since their meeting in the hallway over a day ago. "This is Luna Lovegood. She's a good friend of yours... of ours," he explained. "And this," he continued, turning toward the boy, "is Neville Longbottom, also a good friend."

"Nice to see you again, Ginny," he said. "I'm glad you're alright."

The Weasley girl smiled politely. "Nice to see you," she said back. "And you," she said to Luna.

"Well Hermione, are you ready to go to the prefects compartment?" Ron asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I suppose we should be on our way," she said, grabbing her robes. She looked at Ginny, giving her a reassuring smile. "We'll see you guys at the banquet tonight."

The others said their "see-you-laters" and then Ron and Hermione were gone, leaving Ginny alone with Harry and two strangers.

Though they were both a bit odd, Ginny found the company of Neville and Luna to be fairly pleasant. The conversations were light, no one caring to darken the conversation with talk of Voldemort or the Deatheaters. Occasionally a group of students would walk by their compartment slowly, eyes glued to Ginny through the window.

"They're just curious," Harry explained. "There are so many rumours around now days, no one knows what the truth is anymore."

Ginny nodded and shrugged it off as Harry lowered the blinds.

"So you want to give me a chance to win back my pride?" Harry asked Ginny, holding up Ron's chess set. "Ron left it in case we got bored."

She couldn't help but smile. "Does 'giving you a chance' mean I have to take it easy on you?" she asked.

Harry smiled and set the board.

When the train finally arrived at Hogwarts, Ginny felt as if she was in a dream that was moving far too fast for her to keep up. She didn't know what to do, so she just followed the examples of Harry, Neville, and Luna. All the people, the carriage ride, the long lines, the big table full of people – before she could even realize what was going on, Ginny was following her three friends to a table crowded with people who all seemed to know her.

Everyone was talking at once and she was being 'introduced' to so many people that she hardly had time to put the names and faces together, much less remember them. She felt a huge relief when she heard Hermione's voice from behind her. "How was the ride?" she asked, sitting beside Ginny, a bright smile on her face.

The Weasley girl gave her a half smile, betraying her feeling of being overwhelmed. Hermione wasn't used to seeing the sense of helplessness on her friend's face. Even when she was lying in the hospital bed, Ginny always had that air of self-assuredness about her. She took Ginny's hand in her own under the table and gave it a squeeze, letting her know that everything would be okay. Seeing the softer side of the youngest Weasley evoked many emotions from within Hermione.

Ginny watched as the first years were sorted into their houses. She wondered if they were as scared as she was right then and she knew that they probably were. She wished she could remember being sorted. She was glad when the meal started because it meant delaying more questions and comments from her schoolmates.

"Ron and I have to escort the first years up to the tower," Hermione told Ginny. "Stay with Harry, he'll show you the way up." Ginny nodded.

"I know you don't remember any of these people, but they all mean well," Ron said of the people packed in around them. "Most of them anyhow," he added with venom in his voice as he stared down a group of students with the Slytherin house crest on their robes.

"He's right," Hermione told her, as the bustle of the crowd began to separate them. "See you in the common room later!"

Ginny turned to find Harry before they got too far from one another. Harry put a hand on her upper arm, ushering her toward the side of the room. "It's easier to ignore it than it is to worry about it," he told her, feeling her tension about the way people kept craning their necks to get a good look at her. Neville wasn't far away from them and Harry moved toward him, knowing that a familiar face always made things at least a little easier.

The room buzzed around them as students were meeting and greeting and catching up after summer break. It was as if they were making their way through a maze. "Once we get to the Gryffindor Tower, it'll just be other people from our house," he told her.

"Usually it's Harry everyone's trying to get a look at," Neville told her, noticing the special attention everyone was paying to the Weasley girl.

"Harry!" a voice called out from a person that they couldn't see. Suddenly, a girl appeared before them. Neville didn't recognize her, but Harry apparently did, Ginny judged. "Cho told me to give this to you," the girl said. "She wanted me to ask you to please meet her in a few minutes."

Harry turned to Ginny. "She said it's really important," the girl added. An array of different emotions crossed Harry's face. He looked torn.

"I'll take her up," Neville said to Harry.

"Uh... thanks," Harry replied, letting the girl lead him off to where Cho was waiting.

Ginny didn't understand, so Neville explained. "Cho was Harry's girlfriend last year," he said. "Things kind of went bad between the two of them at the end of last year, and then Michael Cor- ... well, I suppose you don't remember all of what happened and it's too complicated to try to explain," he told her, a bit of confused look crossing his face just thinking about explaining it.

Another stab of sadness inched its way through Ginny Weasley. She nodded her head, but kept silent, just letting Neville lead her to the Gryffindor Tower. Her brow furled as she thought. Maybe she was right for thinking that Harry couldn't like her the way that she had liked him. What was she doing thinking that he liked her now just because he was being nice to her? Cho probably wanted to reconcile with him and be his girlfriend again.

"This is the fat lady," Neville said to Ginny, drawing her out of her own self-pitying thoughts. "You have to tell her the password to get into the tower.

"Bowtruckles," he then said to the fat lady. The portait moved allowing them entrance to Gryffindor Tower. If she hadn't been thinking about Harry, she would have been thoroughly captivated by the scene before her. The room was marvelously decorated and there seemed to be a bit of a party going on. No one seemed to notice her enter.

"Which way is my room?" she asked Neville quietly.

"That way," he said, pointing her in the right direction. "If you go now, you might be able to make it before someone notices."

Taking Neville's advice, Ginny inched her way the direction that he had pointed. Before she could make it up though, someone, of course, had noticed her. "Ginny!" a friendly voice from somewhere beside her called.

"Oh, hi," Ginny said less than enthusiastically.

"Everyone was just talking about you," the girl informed Ginny. Ginny didn't respond. "We were just saying how we hoped you were doing okay."

Ginny gave the best smile she could muster as several pairs of eyes settled on her. "Not everyone believes it was Deatheaters, you know," the girl continued. "Those of us who were in Dumbledore's Army know it was, though," she said matter-of-factly.

"Did you get any Deatheaters?" someone asked.

"What were they after, anyway?" someone else asked.

"How'd you manage getting back home?" yet another person asked.

"The girl's a real trooper," someone else chimed in. "Second time she's gone up against Deatheaters and come out alive."

"A lot of adults couldn't even do that." Ginny had lost track of who had been talking. She flashed another half smile, wishing she could just sink back into a corner and have everyone forget about her.

"So tell us about it," the first girl spoke again.

"I-... I don't remember any of it," Ginny answered.

"So it's true then?" a voice asked.

"Did you really lose your memory?" another person asked.

"I-... yes," the girl answered.

A half excited squeel came out of the first girl's mouth. "So you don't remember anyone here?!" she asked, but it was more of a statement. "Well let me introduce you to everyone then," she said.

Not wanting to be overwhelmed again with more people and names than she could possibly remember, but not wanting to be rude, Ginny found herself in a dilemma. She looked to Neville for help, but he looked as helpless as she did. The poor girl found herself subjected to being dragged around the room by the girl, whose name, she learned, was Lavender Brown.

Just when Ginny thought that she would couldn't take being dragged around any longer, the portrait hole opened and a group of small, scared, sleepy looking students was ushered in, escorted by a group of prefects, her brother and Hermione being among the mix. Relief flooded over her. The youngest Weasley watched as her best friend's eyes darted around the room until they settled on her. Hermione turned to the group of students she escorted and after directing them to their rooms, made quickly for Ginny.

"Hello, Lavender," Hermione said to the girl beside Ginny. "Have a nice summer?" she asked, directing the attention away from the red head.

"It was alright," Lavender answered.

"Well, that's good to hear," Hermione said back. "Ginny can you come with me for a minute?" she asked, pulling the younger girl away. Of course they both knew she hadn't really _needed_ Ginny for anything, but Lavender didn't know that.

"Lights out in 10 minutes," one of the older prefects called out, which spurred people moving toward their rooms. Hermione and Ginny lagged behind.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.

Disappointment flickered across Ginny's face for a split second before she answered, but a split second was all it took for Hermione to catch it. "Cho wanted to see him," Ginny said. "So he had Neville show me up." She didn't say anymore for fear that bitterness would be evident in her voice.

The bushy haired girl frowned, but didn't say anything. "Are you about ready for bed?" Hermione asked.

Ginny nodded. "I'm pretty tired," she said. Hermione showed her where she would be if she needed her and then escorted the exhausted red head to her own bed.

"Get some sleep," Hermione said. "You'll have another busy day tomorrow," she said, wishing she could somehow make it easier on her friend.

"Thanks," Ginny said, then turned and without a word to any of her roommates, climbed into her bed and pulled the curtains closed around herself.

Hermione was pretty tired herself, and headed off to her own bed. Her roommates must have been just as tired as she was, because they were already in their beds. The first day back was always tiring. It didn't take her very long to fall asleep and drift into her dreams.

She felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes, and knew by the amount of light coming into the window from the moon that it couldn't have been more than an hour, when she woke to someone whispering her name. "Hermione," the voice whispered again once she was sure that the prefect was awake.

Hermione blinked to focus her eyes to the dark. She could make out a familiar pale form standing near the foot of her bed. "Ginny? What are you doing here?"

Ginny looked as if she was afraid that Hermione would reproach her for coming in and waking her in the middle of the night. "I couldn't sleep," Ginny said, ashamed of herself.

"What's wrong?" Hermione whispered back, clearing a space for Ginny to sit on her bed and then drawing the curtains closed around them. That same look that Ginny had had on her face earlier at the sorting ceremony was back again – the helpless, overwhelmed look that was so unfamiliar and foreign to Ginny's features. Hermione wrapped her arms around the frail girl.

Ginny leaned into the other girl, her resolve crumbling. For the first time since she had lost her memory, she wept for herself. Seeing this side of Ginny wasn't something Hermione was used to, and it caught her completely off guard. She breathed in deeply, but held tight to the younger girl. She thought of all the times that Ginny had stood strong in the face of whatever had been thrown at her and was reminded again of how much she cared for this girl.

Hermione held the position for several minutes until Ginny's crying slowed and calmed to soft miserable sobs. "Here," Hermione said, pulling back her blanket. "Lay down with me." Ginny, not having the strength or will to do anything else, let Hermione lay her down as if she were a rag doll. She laid down beside the crying girl and held her tight. "You've had a hard day," she said. Then thinking back over the the last few weeks, added, "I honestly don't know how you've gone this long without letting it get to you. But you've always been strong." She smiled grimly and held Ginny even tighter.

Despite Hermione being so close, Ginny still felt alone in the world. She stared into space, lost in her thoughts of loneliness and despair. She didn't know who she was. Everyone else was happy being back and seeing their friends again. But she couldn't remember anyone. She had no idea how she would make it to, much less, through her classes tomorrow. So many thoughts rushed through her head that she felt like she would never feel happiness again.

"Close your eyes," Hermione whispered into her ear. "Don't think about anything, just close your eyes." Hermione's voice pulled Ginny back out of her thoughts and Hermione would never know just how grateful the younger girl was. Hermione hoped that as long as she gave Ginny something to concentrate on, she wouldn't be thinking about everything that had

happened, so she kept talking, hoping her voice would distract Ginny from her thoughts.

"Don't worry about anything. I'm going to be here with you through this. And your other friends, I know you don't remember them, but you'll get to know them again in time and they'll be here for you too." Hermione kept talking until she felt Ginny's breath even out and then just lay there beside the sleeping girl.

She couldn't help but notice how good Ginny smelled. Funny that she was thinking of that in the light of all that had been happening. She shook her head at herself and raised up softly to get a drink of water from her nightstand. With the cup about halfway to her mouth, she glanced to make sure that she hadn't disturbed Ginny's sleep. The cup froze at her lips as she watched the moonlight dance on the younger girl's pale, freckled skin.

The brown haired girl smiled affectionately. She had never noticed before how beautiful her friend was. She finished her drink of water and then sat it back down, pausing to take another long look at Ginny's beautiful sleeping form. Before she let her thoughts travel any farther down the path they were headed on, Hermione laid back down, deciding to go to sleep quickly, forcing the thoughts out of her head.

Hermione trembled beside Ginny. This time, it was she that couldn't sleep. She couldn't believe the thoughts that were picking at the edges of her mind and tried all she knew to ignore them. The girl was on the verge of panic, wondering what she would do. She couldn't stay here, not in this bed, not having these kinds of thoughts about another girl, about her best friend. What was wrong with her? She couldn't get up though. She had no where to go. And what would Ginny think when she woke and Hermione wasn't there?

Closing her eyes tightly, Hermione forced herself into sleep. Her dreams though, were as haunting as being awake. Ginny's face drifted back and forth across her mind. What was going on with her? Why was she having these thoughts?


End file.
